Al Shahania takes on Muaither in the second round of the QSL this Thursday at the Al Arabi stadium. Both newly promoted sides will be aiming for the three points in battle of the underdogs.

Al Shahania were soundly beaten 3-0 by last season’s QSL champions Al Rayyan in their opening game. Their upcoming game will be against familiar opponents as they have played Muaither in the Qatar gas League last season.

Fathi Jabal, head coach of Al Shahania believes that this is a must win game for his team, “This game is important for both teams as both teams are coming from defeats.  We know Muaither have some good individuals. We are aware that the first games are for earning points and we will try to do that.”

“In our last game we tried our best to try and earn some points against Al Rayyan. We came into the game with our players scared of facing the title winners. In the future we will try to release the player psychologically and relieve them of other pressures,” added the Tunisian head coach.

Muaither also suffered a heavy 4-0 defeat in their opening game against Lekhwiya. However, their second game will be a good opportunity to earn some points.

Philip Birrol, the head coach of Muaither said, “Last year we had two draws against Al Shahania in the Qatar Gas League. We hope to come back from our last defeat and play better than we did in the game against Lekhwiya,” added the French tactician.

“We must learn from our mistakes and we must try to incorporate both young and experienced players and find a good balance. We are expecting Adel Lamy to play for us because in the first game he wasn't ready,” added Birrol at the press conference on Wednesday.